1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of cryocoolers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Long-life Stirling-class cryocoolers generally contain two central subsystems: a compressor that converts electrical energy into pressure-volume (PV) power, and a Stirling displacer that actively controls the thermodynamic compression/expansion cycle. PV power produced by the compressor must be transmitted into the displacer working volume. This transmission induces various parasitic losses of usable PV power along a transfer line between compressor and expander modules. This in turn results in a loss of overall system efficiency, which has negative effects on the larger system in which the cryocooler is integrated.
From the foregoing it will be appreciated that improvements in cryocoolers are possible.